Publication

This article examines the visibility of diseases and epidemics in international TV news shows, focusing on the top ten diseases reported in the UK and South Africa. It discusses these health-related issues in the framework of pop singer Madonna's adoption of a Malawi orphan, which caused extensive media coverage. It argues however that the fact that the natural mother of the baby and his sibling died of malaria was barely mentioned while the story focus quickly moved to adoption laws in Malawi, the situation of orphans in Africa as well as moral issues on children being called the latest "celebrity fashion accessory."